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CNN Live Event/Special
Harris Speaks To The Nation After Loss, It's Going To Be Ok; Trump Wins White House, GOP Takes Senate, House Still Up For Grabs; Trump Transition Team Sets Up Operation In West Palm Beach, Florida. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired November 06, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:00:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: And welcome to CNN's special coverage of Election Day in America. I'm Anderson Cooper.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And I'm Erin Burnett.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivering her concession speech after Donald Trump recaptured the office he lost four years ago. As of tonight, the now president-elect has 291 electoral votes, Harris to 23. There are still states outstanding.
And speaking from her alma mater, Howard University. Harris spoke about the election, addressing the concerns that many have about a second Trump term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We must accept the results of this election. Earlier today, I spoke with president-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.
In our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: We now know President Biden is expected to address the nation tomorrow. He also spoke with Trump earlier today to congratulate him and invite him to the White House, as is tradition. And President- elect Trump is returning to Washington with a Senate that will again be controlled by Republicans. The GOP now have 52 seats, and there are several races that we have not yet called, including Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania as of right now. The Democrat is leading in Arizona. Republicans are leading in Nevada and Pennsylvania.
At this hour, Republicans are also hoping to keep control of the House. Right now, Republicans I have 208 seats, Democrats 190.
I want to start with Kaitlan Collins and Kristen Holmes who are live in West Palm Beach, Florida for us right now.
Let's talk about what what's going on with the transition.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Anderson. I mean, former President Trump has basically -- now President-elect Trump, I should say, has basically been on the phone all day long with allies of his, with world leaders. I spoke to one person earlier who was talking to him who said during their conversation that they were talking about what Trump did in his first term and what he is expecting to do and hoping to do in his second term. Very clearly, he has already moved on from just the victory in and of itself and is talking, Kristen, about what he is going to do the next time around.
But these calls that he's been getting from world leader after world leader, the congratulations started rolling in while we were still covering the race last night before it even been called in his favor officially by CNN, it's notable because, obviously, Trump's foreign policy and what that's going to look like in a second Trump term is a major question for these world leaders who some of them have experienced, like the French leader and the Israeli prime minister when dealing with him when he's in office. But a lot of these world leaders have changed. It is going to be basically a whole new world for them in working with President Trump compared to a President Biden.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, and all they've heard about is what it was like working with President Trump. And a lot of the times that it's not necessarily a positive thing when he was on the world stage.
Now, we do know that he has taken calls from some of the world's biggest leaders. President Xi called him today. Viktor Orban just said that he just spoke to him. We know that he has spoken to a number of these world leaders. And they're keeping very close track of how early people congratulated him, who exactly reached out and who reached out when Donald Trump wasn't in power and tried to have conversations with them.
Donald Trump, as we know, is someone who cares so much about loyalty and really just being respected. He believes that he, because he was a former president, should have had the same level of respect when he was out of office that he had when he was in office. Not all of the world leaders agreed with that stance. We saw a lot of them kind of come out against some of the things Donald Trump would say or do. Donald Trump is tracking all of that right now.
Now, we also know that he has a short memory when it comes to Zelenskyy, for example, somebody who He spoke to today who congratulated him on his win, somebody who, after he met with him, despite the fact that he had been trashing him for months, said that he thought he could work out a deal with him likely, I'm told, because Zelenskyy praised him for majority of the meeting the two had.
This is going to be a pattern that we're going to see how it plays out on the world stage, obviously, the big question. COLLINS: Well, and those are two crises that he's inheriting, which is the war in Ukraine and how that's going to be resolved. We know The Biden administration is going to try to do as much as they can in these next two months before Trump officially takes office. We'll see what that actually looks like, but also in the Middle East. He spoke with the Saudi crown prince today. He also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That's a call that's notable because they had a massive falling out after President Biden won the White House.
[18:05:01]
And Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate Biden on his win, which infuriated Donald Trump. He was using expletives against the Israeli prime minister. Obviously, they have since reconciled, since he came here to Mar-a-Lago.
But it just speaks to how much the dynamic has shifted, and how much the world has changed in the four years he's been out of office.
HOLMES: Absolutely. One of the things Donald Trump has promised on the campaign trail over and over again is that he's going to end all of these crises overseas in 24 hours without actually offering any reasoning as to how or what he would do it.
Now, a lot of that is how Donald Trump speaks. You ask him, you follow up on a question. He says, well, why would I tell you now? I'll do it when I'm in office. He also has touted the fact that he has relationships with Bibi, with Putin, with Zelenskyy, obviously Zelenskyy being the most recent.
How he actually handles this when he's in office remains to be seen. But one of the things that he has continued to talk about is how great he is at foreign policy, how he kept everybody out of wars. Now he actually won the presidency, and now he actually has to prove that the things that he has been promising can come to fruition.
COLLINS: Yes. And it remains to be seen if he's -- I don't think he's spoken to Putin yet, and the Kremlin had said earlier Putin didn't feel the need to call and congratulate him. Obviously, we'll see if that changes.
But just to speak to what Trump has been doing today, being on the phone constantly, having these constant meetings, I mean, he hasn't even posted on Truth Social today, which if you look at Trump's Truth Social, as we are required to do for work, I mean, that just speaks to the level of where he's putting his energy forth and what he's doing today.
He's not really on social media at all. He's instead, you know, dealing with a flurry of activity of something that four years ago was taken from him in such a powerful way to where he felt isolated and angry when he came back to this very place after leaving the White House. And now to be back here, he's just had this victory and this political comeback that he's going to be making.
HOLMES: It is a completely different experience. I mean, when he left Washington, he left really in disgrace. After January 6th, he stormed out, as we talked about, the inauguration. He was one of the only presidents to not sit through the peaceful transition of power. He was secluded here in Mar-a-Lago surrounded by really some of the only people who are still with him now, like Susie Wiles, who spent time with him over the last several years.
But so many of these Republicans distanced themselves from him. We saw them putting out statements, not responding to his calls. We are in such a different place at this time around. I mean, they are -- I know Republicans who I've spoken to who have been trying to get him on the phone today who cannot get a hold of him because he's taking so many calls, you know, people who are trying to talk about positions they might want or positions they might want for people that they are loyal to who they believe have been loyal to the former president. He is in the probably best position for himself than he's been in for the last four years-plus since he left office.
COLLINS: Well, and obviously he is someone who -- a lot of politicians do this. I'm not going to say it's just former President Trump, but to the degree of that he keeps track of who calls when and who is around him. I mean, you could see on that stage last night how the influences around him have changed in terms of the Susie Wiles, who was his campaign manager here, the Chris LaCivitas. Donald Trump Jr. has been obviously one of his most prominent children throughout this race compared to the last eight years ago. Ivanka Trump certainly was holding that role. I mean, we have just seen such a change.
And I think one thing that that allies and detractors of his will acknowledge, his for his second term will be nothing like his first term was.
HOLMES: Absolutely. Well, he's going to have a completely different world of influence, as you said. I mean, these are people who, for better or for worse, have different ideas, who many of them have been planning on him winning and planning on what they want to do and how they want to influence government or the administration as a whole or society, I mean, in terms of RFK, talking about the things he wants to do with various health departments. I mean, these are people who are planning for him to be in office.
One of the things to remember is that a lot of people who around him in 2016, they actually didn't think that he was going to win. They put it all in the field. They ran the campaign. But when the results were coming in, they were shocked. That's why so many so much of the transition process other than the fact that we know Donald Trump threw out what was in place, but so much of the transition was it was a lot of chaos, because the people that he kept in office were all over the place.
These are people who have been planning for months for him to win and planning what they want out of this administration. It's a completely different scenario than what we saw before.
COLLINS: Yes, and one they are now confronting head on. Kristen Holmes, thank you for that.
Erin, obviously a lot of activity that has been happening here in Palm Beach in the last 24 hours.
BURNETT: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, when you all were talking, Kristen saying that no one can even get on the phone with him because of all the people calling to jockey for jobs and the world leaders, just a sense of how that day has gone today, so different from the day that Kamala Harris has had.
Abby Phillip and Jeff Zeleny have been at Howard University throughout the day in Washington. That's where Harris did come out and give her concession speech to a crowd of young people, many of whom were in tears, as she came out and spoke for just about 12 minutes or so.
[18:10:04]
So, you know, and you both were there watching that and also I understand, Jeff, there's still sort of conversations going on about the conversations between Biden and Harris, and now Trump.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There are, Erin. I mean, we do know that President Biden had conversations with both Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump this afternoon, and we expect the former president to accept the invitation from the current president to come to the White House for a meeting. But we are just receiving this, a statement from President Biden, just a short word on it.
He really speaks to the future, Vice President Harris. He says it was a one of the best decisions he ever made by bringing her into the fold four years ago. But he said she will continue to have a stamp on the nation's future here, so really talks very glowingly about her. We know that he was watching her speech from the residents of the White House, we were told.
But it was striking, as you were saying, Erin, I mean, the emotion on the face of supporters was very clear here, even as there are so many questions inside the Democratic Party and finger pointing that will continue in the coming days about President Biden's role in this, obviously and the extraordinary set of circumstances that led to this 107-day campaign that ended in defeat.
BURNETT: In defeat and such a shocking defeat to so many.
I mean, Abby, as you were sitting there, I mean, there was so much of the speech and I'm sure being there in the moment, you have a unique perspective on it. There was one part though that I just wanted to play. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: My heart is full today. My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve.
The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But hear me when I say, hear me when I say, the light of America's promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, Abby, there's no answer to this right now, but from all of your sources, people you're talking to, what do you think is next for Vice President Harris?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I think, Erin, that is very unclear. And the way that it's been described to me is that this was a speech that left her options open for what might come next, whatever she wants that to be.
I mean, obviously when she leaves this office, she'll be a private citizen again. She'll be a former vice president, but a private citizen. And she'll do what a lot of formers in those offices do. They exert influence on the party. They have, you know, projects on the side. Perhaps she might write another book.
But the question of who is going to lead the Democratic Party into the future, it's not settled. It's not settled. I mean, Joe Biden's statement put the thumb on the scale in a way for Harris and I think, you know, in a way they feel like they owe that to each other. She gave him an enormous amount of loyalty and Biden is showing that back.
But this is a Democratic Party that is going to be looking for where the ideological center is going to be for them next. And it's not a reflection of Vice President Harris' qualifications of her experience, of her ability to do the job. It's going to be much more about which candidate can capture the mood of the country in an era that has been dominated by Trumpism, where almost the entire country shifted to the right in this last election. Who is going to be the person who can speak to that?
And, Erin, I think if there's one thing about the speech today, she did not really address that part of it. She addressed the part that I think motivates her, which is to protect American democracy from Donald Trump, who she viewed as a threat. But there is a whole half of the country that they say, most of them, that their top issue was the economy, their top issue was immigration, and the Democratic Party is in a soul searching mode right now for how to answer those questions and who is the best messenger to answer those questions.
BURNETT: Pretty incredible. You know, you go into a moment like this and you come out literally with such a void, even as they do have such a deep bench. I mean, it's just an incredible moment in history.
[18:15:00]
Hard I think for anyone to truly realize what it means or to have it sink in, but that is what we're all going through together.
Abby Jeff, thank you very much, at Harris headquarters there at Howard University. Anderson?
COOPER: Yes, Erin. I want to go back to John King at the magic wall right now. John, the president-elect has won a decisive victory, doing better than he did in 2020. Can you just take a look, show us kind of the lay of the land of that victory?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure, we'll walk through it, Anderson. This is why the president elect is now saying that, unlike 2016, maybe, that he believes he has a clear mandate. His team is saying he should get a honeymoon. He should get at least some of his big agenda items. We still don't know if he's going to have a Republican or a Democratic House. He will have a Republican Senate.
But just before you start, just look at all the red. I don't need to say anything. You just look at that, all that red on the map, and it's pretty overwhelming. And you look over here, at the moment, there are some Democrats who think California and New York are going to be counting votes for a couple of weeks, even. Some Democrats who think there's a remote possibility Harris catches up in the popular vote. I think that's unlikely, but it could narrow significantly. 4.8 million, though, advantage now for Donald Trump in the popular vote. Remember Anderson, even when he won in 2016, he lost the popular vote. So, that's a trophy. He's over 50 percent at the moment. Let's see if he stays there. He's at 50.9.
But if you just look at the sweep, it was the blue wall that made him president in 2016. Joe Biden flipped it back. Donald Trump has it again. North Carolina was a battleground state. Trump has held repeatedly. Democrats thought they could get it. He held it. Georgia was a state that Biden flipped in 2020, so was Arizona. Not called yet out there, but it looks likely for Trump. Nevada, a state even Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and Biden won in 2020. So, if you look at the scope of the victory from a battleground state perspective, it is overwhelming.
And I just want you to look at this. This is every county in America. These are the results you're looking at right now. And a lot of Democrats, this is a problem for the Democratic Party. A lot of the Democrats look at all this out here in rural America, in the prairies, and they say, oh, nobody lives there. Those are the flyover states. Those are hardworking Americans. They vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. And Democrats are going to have a conversation about this.
But look at this. This is Trump overperforming by county 2020, overperforming by county. Look at all those counties that are lit up. Some of them are blue. Harris won those counties, but Trump increased his performance by a little bit in those, 3,897 of the 4,600 counties and townships. So, that's almost everywhere. That's boosted over 2020 to 2024.
Now, let's look at it from this perspective. This is overperforming by 3 percent or more. So, this is overperforming by a significant margin. If you look at this, it's nearly 1,200, 1,175 of those 4,600 counties and townships.
So, if you're Trump, you're looking at this and you're saying a lot of it's in red rural America, but, look, that's Nevada. That's a swing state. That's Arizona. It's a swing state. Look at all these counties in Georgia, I'll bring that one up, the counties in Georgia where he overperformed by 3 percent or more in 2020. So, if you're the Republicans, a lot of Republicans still don't love Donald Trump, they can't argue with his political power and the strength of his base out there.
And if you're a Democrat, Anderson, as you look at this map, whether you're looking at from a county perspective like this or you just come back to the full perspective like this, that's a lot of hurt if you're a Democrat and that means a lot of soul searching.
COOPER: John, do you still have on the magic wall, the map of the places where a vice president Harris overperformed or did not overperform?
KING: No, we can do that. Let's bring in the counties here and bring this up and then you bring this out here and you look at Harris overperforming -- oh, this is Harris overperforming 2020 by just -- this could be just a little bit, and you see she did in 613 of those 4,600 counties she overperformed at least by a little bit. But here's where you then you bring in here, you know, and you look at -- no, I don't have the 5 percent anymore. Sorry. We took that one off for this purpose, but she did overperform a little bit in a modest amount of counties.
But when you put the 3 percent of the 5 percent test to it, that's when this goes blank. And, again, that's a challenge for the Democrats. That will be one of the big conversations here, Anderson, about not only Donald Trump made inroads with black voters, inroads with Latino voters, a little bit of inroads in the suburbs, Democrats are going to have a big conversation about their own turnout operation and why it looks at the moment -- we're not done yet, but it does look at the moment, the turnout in 2024 is likely to be down a little bit from 2020. And that was the pandemic year. It was easier to vote in many ways, but there are going to be a lot of conversations in both parties about what happened. And for Democrats, it's an autopsy. For Republicans as a celebration and that they try to build.
COOPER: Yes. John King, thanks very much.
I want to bring back my panel. We just got a Trump campaign statement, Jamie, that I want to read. It says President Joe Biden called President Donald J. Trump to congratulate him on his victory and extended an invitation to the White House to ensure a smooth transition between the current administration and the incoming administration. President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly and very much appreciated the call. Interesting that Trump is accepting Biden's invitation.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, especially since he didn't show up for the inauguration. Look, he clearly is anxious to get back in. And at least for the moment, he's following a norm.
[18:20:00]
COOPER: It's a lot easier to return as the victor than it is.
GANGEL: Yes. And also what we're seeing is very quickly, even though there seems to be some question about why they haven't signed the transition forms to allow that to go ahead, we're seeing on Cnn.com right now, you'll see reporting from Kristen Holmes and Kaitlan about it everybody's name who's being floated for different positions, from secretary of state to defense. So, you're seeing that jockeying going on.
I just want to make, including, by the way, Elon Musk who wants to be in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, which would be interesting, RFK in health, but it looks as if in the Senate, the Republicans have enough power to get people through who normally would not get through.
COOPER: And, again, we've mentioned this before, RFK Jr., this was -- a lot of Republicans were saying, well, look, he couldn't -- you know, don't worry about it. He's not going to be head of a department because he wouldn't pass confirmation.
GANGEL: Maybe he will.
COOPER: Yes. Astead, we also heard from earlier reporting that among the transition team, they've been meeting with John McEntee, who's a leader of the Project 2025. That's something obviously of the hiring part of that. They've already vetted for loyalty, a lot of potential people who could work in a Trump administration. That was something that the -- you know, that Vice President Harris talked about a lot during the campaign. They brought it up a lot, particularly at the convention. They brought out that book. Clearly, it didn't have -- you know, it wasn't a message that resonated. And it seems like, at least for hiring people, that they are talking to this. I mean, John McEntee is involved in this.
ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I mean, this has been a concerted effort by some parts of the conservative Trumpian ecosystem over the last couple years. There was a thought among them that last time they came in unprepared and were relying on Washington and insiders to fill those positions. And this time, they were going to have people that they already knew had passed an ideological loyalty test, and even more so, they have rallied their base around the idea that bureaucracy is an obstacle to making Donald Trump's kind of political vision happen, and that he should actually have power over that to control it. And so this is an intentional and concerted effort that I think speaks to the reason why these Project 2025 leaders are in the kind of room for personnel.
And I also think, you know, I spend a lot of time on the voter front, and I think there's been a little bit of a failure of imagination, even among some voters, about what Donald Trump is promising this time around, so much so that I don't know if we can see this landscape as universal and as sweeping as the rejection of Democrats was as an endorsement of that laundry list of policy issues. I think it was an endorsement for change. I think it was a rejection of the status quo.
But I was talking to an undecided woman today who voted for Trump in Michigan. And we were asking why, he kind of pulled that lever. And she was saying, well I just didn't think that all of the scary stuff they were saying was going to happen. And I said, why? Like, you know, and her answer was it was really just, oh, we have a Democratic governor here. So, what else could -- you know, it can't be all that bad. And so that kind of projection of Trump as inherently moderated by the system checks and balances is one I've heard a lot of voters say. But I would also say it's not clear that those norms hold.
And so it could somewhat can be, I think, for voters, a failure to believe Trump at his word, and I think this time around you should take him at such.
GRETCHEN CARLSON, JOURNALIST: I've heard that so much from friends and from sources that they just don't believe what he is actually saying And I think one of the things that he accomplished so much in the last four years was desensitizing Americans to the crazy things that he said. It almost became the norm so that you just tuned out when you heard the crazy things. And obviously those did not resonate with the voters.
And it makes you wonder about all the attention that the Harris campaign put into talking about the threat to democracy. And over the last couple of weeks, we were saying, well, they must have internal information that is saying that that's working with the voters. But now you have to wonder because we don't know what Donald Trump's going to do. I mean, he says he's not going to do a full scale abortion ban, but we don't know that. If he has Congress, it could happen. We don't know exactly what he's going to do about his enemies list. We don't know what he's going to do about Project -- he tried to take himself completely away from Project 2025, but we don't know what he's going to do. The only thing I would say is I take him by his word for some of the things that he's promised.
HERNDON: And it wasn't just a pitch on democracy. It was one that was specifically targeted to moderate Republicans. And I think that's an important point. It's not as if they were going to disaffected folks or folks who don't participate in political systems, those low propensity voters and saying, hey, this is how we'll fix the political system. They were making it a pitch to more centrist conservatives.
[18:25:00]
And I think there's some evidence here, the type of folks who are most motivated by the Liz Cheneys of the world have already become Democrats over the last several years, they did not win the persuasion battle. This is not just a turnout question. It's not like this is a collapse in places like we kind of saw in 2016. And a lot of states, they got the makeup of the electorate they wanted but the people who showed up to the polls just pulled the lever for Donald Trump.
GANGEL: Just quickly about norms, it's not as if Donald Trump doesn't have a track record of breaking norms. Our government depends on the goodwill of men and women. January 6th was an example. The fact that voters chose to ignore his history, I think, we will see that he will push the envelope when he gets back into office.
COOPER: Our special coverage continues in just a moment.
For the first time in four years, Republicans will be in charge of the Senate, but just how much of a majority they will have. We'll look at that at with Manu Raju. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Welcome back. Republicans are ousting Democrats in several key races to secure the majority in the Senate, and there are still several races to be called.
[18:30:00]
I want to go to Manu Raju for that. What are you seeing?
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Right now, Republicans will have at least a 52-48 Senate because they've picked up three seats in red states. That includes in Ohio and in Montana and West Virginia.
But that majority could very well grow. And let's look at why in one race and in Pennsylvania, where the three-term incumbent Democratic senator, Bob Casey, he is on the ropes. He is down two 27,000 votes against Republican businessman Dave McCormick. McCormick led a major hedge fund. He spent some of the millions of his own dollars in this race, but he is now ahead with a 48.9 percent to 48.5 percent.
And, look, 97 percent of the vote is in. Republicans feel very good about adding another seat to their majority. That's not the only one. Also in Nevada, this was a big surprise. In fact, at the beginning, headed into Tuesday, Sam Brown, the Republican candidate there, an Army veteran, was seen as a bit of an underdog. But he is ahead in this race by 3,800 votes against the incumbent first term Senator Democrat Jackie Rosen, 3,800 votes, 47.4 percent to 47.1 percent, 89 percent of the vote in. Still more to go, but I've talked to Republicans and Democrats who believe this is going to come down to the slimmest of margins.
There is another race a purple state that we have not called in Arizona, a state in which the Democratic candidate, Ruben Gallego, running ahead of the top of his ticket. He's beating Kari Lake, the Republican challenger, someone who ran unsuccessfully for governor two years ago. He's beating Kari Lake by 59,000 votes with 63 percent in. So, there's still some more votes to count in Arizona, but Democrats feel good about keeping that seat.
But, you know, there's some questions here, Erin, about why it matters, because the Republicans already have a majority, 52-48. What's the difference between 53-47 or 54-46? Well, there is a significant difference. It would give more of a buffer to incoming President Trump's agenda. It would allow him to confirm nominees, particularly the Supreme Court, even easier if you lose some races and perhaps most significantly, the minority party would have a harder time digging out of the minority in the successive midterm election in the 2026, 2028 elections and the like.
So, every seat so significant here, Erin, which is why we're looking at these very closely. Republicans could have a 52-48 Senate, but it could be as high as 54-46. Huge news here today.
BURNETT: It is huge news. All right, Manu, thank you.
So, here with our political commentators, all right, so let me start with you, Ana. So, what happens, as Manu goes through this, if the GOP ends up controlling all three branches of power, when we talk about the House, the Senate and the White House, right? We obviously haven't not called the House, but Manu was laying all that out. What happens in that scenario?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That Donald Trump has a mandate and he can get his agenda through. I would say to Republicans, be careful what you wish for because you just may get it. It also means that he can have -- and by the way, I would also argue that he has a Supreme Court.
BURNETT: Right.
NAVARRO: Not only does he -- which has given him immunity, right? He has more leeway on who he appoints and picks for his cabinet, right? So, maybe if he had a 50-50 Senate, a Robert F. K. Jr. would not be a possibility because maybe, maybe just, maybe there'll be one Republican who would not want an anti-vaxxer with a worm in his head to be in charge of health. But if he's got 54, he's got much more leeway. He's got much more leeway to appoint a General Flynn if he wants to. He's got much more leeway to appoint the people that he knows will be 100 percent loyal to him and who have been there with him.
BURNETT: And, Shermichael, he said he wants individuals like certainly RFK Jr., right? He has said he wants --
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This was a mandate and he has a leeway to do what people expect him to do as it pertains to economic dislocation. There's a lot of economic anxiety out there. And the American people have two simple questions for the president- elect and the Republican Party, what's going to be the solution to figuring out a way to lower cost and making sure that hard working, working class people, particularly men who work with their hands, who have seen a lot of those jobs dissipate over time, return back to them? And, number two, how do you address the immigration issue? There are a lot of communities that have seen an influx of people coming in and very limited resources being spread to those people and not to them, and that has caused a lot of division, from Chicago to New York. These are Democratic strongholds.
So, we as a party have to figure out a way to address those answers. That's the mandate.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Can I say something that Ana's point? I agree, I think he does have a mandate. And that's how he should read it and that's how the Republican should read it.
Something that's been on my mind for several months, there was an article in The New York Times in June that said, resistance to new Trump administration already forming. And it was this long article about all these groups that were already out there at that time. I thought he was going to beat Biden, but already planning to try to tie up the administration in court.
[18:35:02] You've had Jamie Raskin out there already saying, you know, we've got to try to tie him up, maybe even before he's sworn in. Today, Sheldon Whitehouse and the Senate put out a press release saying, we're going to focus not on progress but on containing Donald Trump.
My political advice to all these people is please pick up the election results today and see what happened. The American people want this president and his administration and his party to make progress on the things they promised to do. This is exactly what happened last time. They were plotting to impeach him before he ever took office back in 2016. Let us not have a replay of this. Can we just have a couple of years of peace for the Republicans and President Trump to do what they promised to do because the American people clearly are asking for it?
NAVARRO: But, Scott, I have to tell you, that's really rich though from our party and from Trump who, for four years, never even acknowledged that Joe Biden had won the election.
ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, also from --
BURNETT: He still hasn't, except for when he said Joe Rogan by accident.
ALLISON: But also from your mentor Mitch McConnell when Barack Obama was elected with a 60-person majority in the Senate, which would have overridden a filibuster, said he was not going to do anything to allow him to get another term or to make any progress.
So, let's call a spade for a spade. People are elected to represent a constituency. If you're a Democrat right now, and your constituency has sent you back in this election, you have a responsibility to them also. And it is not to allow Donald Trump to get away with everything he wants to get away with. That is our democracy. People are allowed to take positions. That is the difference between a dictatorship and a democracy. That's what we've been fighting.
JENNINGS: I agree that they have constituents, but there is a difference in responding to your constituents and working overtime to try to prevent the duly elected government from doing anything that this thing back in --
ALLISON: I know when like Obama nominated a Supreme Court justice, like it is so duplicitous, I feel like. I respect you, Scott, and you're my friend, but like please do not sit here and say that Republicans, when Democrats are elected, just roll over and like --
JENNINGS: Okay, my advice is if you all go down this road and try to stop this government, which just won a mandate from doing anything, you will again pay the price and election after election. The American people are asking for progress. Do not tie this man up. Give this person a chance to lead.
NAVARRO: I'm not sure of that. I'm not sure that if -- I mean, and we'll see it right. We've got elections again in two years and Donald Trump most likely will have a House and a Senate, so he will be able to impose the tariffs he wants. He will be able to pass the deportation programs he wants. He will be able to do the things that he has promised to do. We'll see if all of those things get done if there isn't some re-shifting in two years, if people applaud those things getting done. Because, as you know, in the minority, there's only so much the Democrats will be able to do. They can talk about tying things up, so they really won't be able to do so.
BURNETT: Okay. You all haven't touched on this one. You're on the edges of it. But there is also the conversation out there and people who are very angry who are saying, well, this is proof of, okay, and you can go to other networks to hear this in quite strident terms, of the racism, bigotry, anti, whatever ists in American society that were in this situation. But I just want to play what Charlamagne said about it. Charlamagne supported Harris. Charlamagne came out and addressed this directly today. And I thought it was interesting how he addressed it. I want to play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I don't think it's fair to just chalk up, you know, Trump winning to racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism. Yes, he tapped into all of the worst things America has ever had to offer, and there are a lot of people who agree with his rhetoric and voted for him because of those reasons, but I truly believe most people voted for him because they want more money in their pocket and they want to feel safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SINGLETON: I mean, that's a good point. I mean, I've seen so many people say, well, half of white women who voted for Donald Trump, they did what they always do. Why would any white woman want to vote for a Democrat going forward?
BURNETT: Well, there's a lot of offensive stuff, supporting the patriarchy and all that. Again, I say you can go to another network.
SINGLETON: Right, but then they go after Latino men and black men and say, oh, there's a lot of misogyny with black men. They don't want to really support a black woman, as if there aren't other reasons, legitimate reasons for people to vote for and support a Donald Trump.
Just as Charlamagne said, there are reasons, Erin, people made the decision. You know what? We tried Joe Biden and Vice President Harris for three and a half years. We don't like the results. We're going to take a shot with Donald Trump. And Donald Trump has an opportunity to provide some real solutions to those voters.
ALLISON: I don't speak in absolutes. I think that misogyny exists. I think sexism is this and I think people want more money in their pockets. Multiple things can be true at one time. When you're an adult, you realize that. So, I don't think anyone is saying that the reason why -- the only reason why Kamala Harris has lost this election is because of misogyny and racism, but I think it would be putting blinders on to not think it exists.
[18:40:04] I just think it would, like she couldn't be a 34 convicted felon and even get on the top of a ticket if she was -- you couldn't either, Shermichael, to be honest.
SINGLETON: Yes. But I don't think that's even just because she's a black woman. I think George W. Bush probably couldn't have gone through some of the things Trump has gone through and would be elected president twice.
ALLISON: That's a question mark, but --
SINGLETON: I'm not necessarily certain, if you can say, just because she's a woman and a woman of color only, I don't think most politicians would be able to do what Donald Trump has been able to do. He's just very unique in that regard.
NAVARRO: Okay. I absolutely agree with you that Donald Trump gets measured by a completely different stick than any normal human being. But when you put -- but when that human being is also a woman, and is also a black woman, a woman of color, I think there are added aspects that you can't deny.
SINGLETON: Well, I'm not --
BURNETT: I just hit pause. I hit pause because we're going to come back. I know, but it is fascinating. I mean, I think it's the heart of what everyone's talking about.
All right, our special election night coverage continues in just a moment. Next, we're going to speak to a close Trump ally, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. What does she know about what Trump's doing right this moment? We'll be back.
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[18:45:09]
BURNETT: President Donald Trump tonight on the phone pretty much all day. Our Kristen Holmes reporting that no one could even get through to him as he was just taking calls from people who want jobs from world leaders. That was his entire day on the phone after a decisive victory.
The Republican governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, joins me now live. She was with President-elect Trump last night as the election results were coming in.
And, Governor, I appreciate your time. You know, last night, I know there was a time yesterday he had no idea how this would go. And of course, it is gone in a definitive way in his favor. He has won.
Have you had a chance to talk to him today? And -- and we talk about him being on the phone all day what was his focus today?
GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): A few minutes, congratulated him again for doing so well, and he was right to work. He was visiting with other world leaders, talking to folks about what this transition would look like and making a list of things that he wanted to get done as soon as he got back into the White House, and what the American people told him was important yesterday.
When these election results came in, they clearly said they want a secure border. They want their streets to be safe. They want to raise their families with more money in their pockets and President Trump heard them loud and clear. He's -- he's anxious to get to work.
BURNETT: All right. So look, they voted loud and clear for him. That is true. Of course, there are nearly 67 million people who did not cast that vote. And many of them have a fear that President Trump will revert to some of the rhetoric that we have heard from in recent days.
So last night, as you know, Governor, he came out, he said he wanted to fight for every American. Those are words people want to hear, but they are in a stark contrast to some of what we have heard from him in these final days of the election. Like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know she's a very, very low IQ person.
She's a communist.
She's a radical left lunatic. We do have an enemy from within. We have some very bad people. And those people are also very dangerous. They would like to take down our country.
They have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.
And I think they're the -- and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary by National Guard or if really necessary by the military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, Governor, why now should the nearly 70 million Americans who voted for someone other than Trump, most of them voted for Harris, why should they think that he will not treat people would treat them? Why should they think he will not follow through on those promises?
NOEM: Well, President Trump clearly gave a message last night of unifying this country and fighting for every single American. And I know that the American people overwhelmingly last night they voted for a president that wants to get things done to make their lives easier.
And they found Kamala Harris far too extreme, that she had radical ideas on social policy, on tax policy. She wanted to mandate decisions in their lives. And the American people said no. They're looking forward to someone who takes a different path than what we've seen these last four years. And that's President Trump. They know what he did the last time he was in the White House, and they trusted him to and make sure that he took care of this country. BURNETT: They absolutely did. And I know you probably haven't talked
to him about, you know, specific things like this. But when he talks about radical left lunatics could be handled by, if necessary or the National Guard or if really necessary by the military. Do you believe that that really is rhetoric?
NOEM: Yeah, President Trump is focused on dangerous people. Today when I was visiting with him, he's focused on making this country safer. We live in a very unstable time on the world stage. He is now the leader of the free world, and he recognizes that every word he says tips that balance of power, and he is working to strengthen America.
He also recognizes a lot of families during this campaign came to him and told him tragic stories of losing loved ones because of illegal immigrants that came in that were rapists or murderers or terrorists that are dangerous to this country. And he has focused on making their communities more safe.
And he really, truly wants to turn this economy around. He recognizes that so many families right now just aren't able to go after the jobs that they want. They aren't able to afford to take a vacation with their family.
Energy prices have gone through the roof, and he knows exactly what he needs to do to help every single individual in this country.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Governor Kristi Noem, I appreciate your time and thank you.
NOEM: Uh-huh. Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. And next, much more of our special election coverage. We're going to go back to the White House for the latest reaction there after the vice president's concession speech and about the upcoming transition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And welcome back to our special coverage, "Election Night in America Continued". With the Trump transition now in full swing, we want to go back to the White House and Kayla Tausche for the latest there.
So, Kayla, President Biden released a statement tonight saying choosing Kamala Harris as his vice president was, quote, the best decision he made. What more have you heard about how their relationship is tonight?
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Anderson, we know that that call was cordial. It was complimentary, but it is no secret among aides that the relationship between the two has been relatively fraught in recent months, as Harris has tried to establish some distance between her and an unpopular incumbent whose lack of popularity ended up costing her the election, in the words and the views of many aides. So there's certainly been some friction between the two of them as
Biden, who believes that he's done a good job as president, believes that he deserves more of the credit and that where they had successes that she shouldn't have been taking the credit, and certainly, there is a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking among aides in Biden world. They believe that perhaps she was a flawed candidate, perhaps that Biden with his long won favorability among the white working class coalition, maybe he perhaps could have pulled out the blue wall if he remains the candidate.
There's also some finger pointing at former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who at different times urged biden to step aside in favor of other candidates.
[18:55:01]
But then there's also just this reckoning over the president's deep unpopularity, and perhaps they just didn't truly grasp how the electorate was truly feeling about his agenda.
COOPER: The Trump team released a statement saying that the president- elect was looking forward to meeting with President Biden.
Do you have any reporting on when that might actually happen?
TAUSCHE: Well, we know that the statement said that the meeting would take place shortly and that the teams are working to put it on the books. It's something that didn't happen back in 2020, when President Biden won election and former president Trump was the outgoing incumbent at the time.
So certainly the teams are working to put that together. And, of course, we'll let you know as soon as we have more details on when exactly that lands -- Anderson.
COOPER: And looking ahead to tomorrow, the president is expected to speak. Do you know where that's going to take place, what message he wants to convey? Well, most of these messages, he's delivered from the White House. Certainly, the addresses of the most consequence he's delivered from the Oval Office.
And we're still waiting for a location for this address to be nailed down, but we expect it to be one of reflection, but one with very high level messaging. President Biden ran on a platform to restore the soul of the nation. He saw himself four years ago as the great unifier of the country, who could bridge the gap across the aisle.
But, of course, what we've seen in just recent weeks is that the deep divisions in this country still remain. So we expect him to give a nod to that, while also not -- giving nod to the power of democracy, a peaceful transitions of power which, of course, Vice President Harris said in her call with former President Trump, that she expects there to be this time around -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Kayla Tausche in the White House, thanks very much.
Up next, our special election coverage continues with more on President-elect Trump's plans for his transition back into power.
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